Assistance
by tzaya
Summary: It was unintentional that Shizuo ended up hurting someone he wanted to help, leaving him plagued by his own demons.
1. 1

He'd done it. He'd accidentally hurt an innocent woman. The blond hung his head down, bottom half still sprawled all over the street. It wasn't like it was the first time Shizuo had hurt someone, especially when his job _demanded_ him to scare those deadbeats into paying up their debts— though he never stuck around to see if they managed to even survive after he threw them into the air, soon to land wherever at a great velocity. They deserved it after all.

The woman, however, was nothing but sweet towards him, he noted as he let his saddened gaze trail over her crouching body. People had flocked around her to tend to her injuries and they didn't dare going near Shizuo. They would rather not get involved, too familiar of how bad his temper was. But what they didn't know was that he actually hated hurting people.

 _I hate violence._

 _I despise it._

"I'm sorry," He called out to her, "I didn't mean to hit you."

A frail smile spread across her face, and she looked so sincere. Shizuo wondered how that could be when he'd hit her with a guard rail after his hand slipped a bit. It seemed like doing an act of kindness wasn't working out well for him, seeing as all he wanted was to help her cross the road. And a bunch of rowdy boys just had to make him mad, by spouting off what dirty acts they were going to do to a poor girl.

"It's okay, young man." She nodded and soon turned to reassure a boy who was asking if she was fine. It didn't feel okay, at all. The first time he had hurt someone –who wasn't guilty of anything, of course- was when he was around that boy's age. Trying to act like a hero by saving the bakery lady, but ended up giving her more trouble. He'd not only destroyed her shop, but also _hurt her in the process_.

 _Just like this time._

"And other times…" mumbled him, to himself.

Each time something like this happened, the bad feeling inside him just stacked up, until now he just felt like he couldn't take it anymore. He was so tired of this gift that he didn't even ask for.

 _This curse._

Shizuo gritted his teeth and kept his eyes on the ground, no longer having the courage to look at the scene before him. Trembling curled fists dug into the road underneath, making the rough surface leave cuts on his skin. Not like he could feel it, unlike the deep sorrow inside of him. That, he could feel. It's clawing its way around his heart, and engulfing him.

The debt collector didn't know how long he'd spent just sitting there in despair, perhaps a few hours, because when his mind gained a bit of clarity, he noticed that the woman was gone. And it was drizzling.


	2. 2

"Shizu-chan!"

Izaya skipped towards the said man, not surprised at the way Shizuo didn't even move to face him. They both knew Shizuo would've reacted if everything was all right.

He was an informant, and words spread fast in his world. Especially with the connections that he had with the Dollars.

"I heard about what happened. Ah, I can't help but feel sorry for that woman~ Becoming yet another victim to this kind of violence… I might just send her some flowers later, you know." He prattled on, bending his body to talk right by Shizuo's ears.

"It's to be expected, right? Being around you, who possesses abnormal strength. With a plus! A bad temper. You're just like a ticking bomb that's waiting to go off, while poor us who needs to run to save our precious lives."

"…"

The informant's grin withered away, crimson eyes narrowing into slits when Shizuo kept quiet, unmoving. He lifted his chin, letting the droplets of rain fall onto his face. _So much for pulling the hood of his parka up._ Even though he was no longer smiling, he kept his playful tone intact. It felt like talking to a log but Izaya tried to not let it get to him.

"So now you're punishing yourself? It must be the first time I'm seeing Shizu-chan do this~ Of course, it won't be enough considering you've hurt many people that I think we can't even count anymore. But this will do okay, for now! The monster should be punished for its wrongdoings, I agree. And so…"

A flash of metal in the air, and Izaya had his favorite switchblade lodged into Shizuo's shoulder. He pushed it deeper with every syllable he breathed out against the blond's throat, "I will help you accomplish that, just this once."

His fingers then left the handle just to reach into his pocket, fetching some small blades he kept on his person. He kept them all in a hand, and took one of them into the other for better grip.

"Where should we do it first, hm? First of all, the root of this horrible event, the ones you use to pick up everything," He stabbed Shizuo's arm with the blade, "here." Leaving these blades on Shizuo was not a problem, since he didn't need to worry about Shizuo using them against him. The protozoan seemed like he'd turned into a rock.

"And for when you broke their ribs, it must've been painful to move. What if they punctured the lungs? How inconsiderate, Shizu-chan. Well then," Izaya prodded at the man's right rib with the weapon teasingly before pushing it in, "there."

He took another blade, one after another, and he started putting them in random places on Shizuo's body. It wasn't like he expected Shizuo to feel pain, but a reaction would be nice, nonetheless.

"Because your heart must hurt very much…" Dragging the last blade across Shizuo's chest, he sliced it through the shirt, making a cut similar to the one he'd made on the same chest, back in the Raijin days. "We can fix it." He smiled, thrusting his trusty blade into Shizuo's chest, where it wouldn't kill him— a little happy that his knowledge didn't fail him. He was well educated about the vital and non vital parts of the human body.

"…"

Shizuo didn't even seem shocked that Izaya could've taken his life, and Izaya _didn't_ , even when he had the perfect opportunity to do so.

After a brief moment of silence, Izaya dropped himself onto his knees behind Shizuo and leaned in to circle his arms around the blond's neck, not at all bothered about the fact that Shizuo was bleeding. The blood stuck to his shirt but he didn't mind. He rested his head against the man he was embracing, eyes shut and a sigh escaping his lips.

"There, I gave you a hand." He breathed out, pressing their bodies closer.

"You can't do anything yourself, can you…"

"… _Shizu-chan."_


End file.
